Assionob to albert pick



W. MCKENNA STEAM comma :5 Sheets-Shet 1 1 June 25, 1929.

Original Filed Feb. 10, 1921 h v 5 om K 0 v 7 0 a n W 4 m,

W. M KENNA STEAM COOKER Juli; 25, 1929.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mass w 192s.

- NITED S AT S I Re.17 ,,336 PATENTYOFFICE.

"WILLIAM 11mm, or cmcmnnonro', nssrolvon 'ro ALBERT-PICK a confirm or onrcaoo, mnmors, A CORPORATION or ILLmoIasmart oooxna.

original in. 1,628,895; dated Kay 17, mm, Serial No. 443,794; flied February 1o,"19a1.

- for reissue filed Kay 15, 1929. Serial No. 888,376. 1'

The invention relates to culinary steam cookers. j f v One object of the invention is'to plrovide the cooker with means for automatica y cutting ofi the supply of steam to the cooking chamber when the door is open. In rec-J tice, it is objectionable to the cook to ave the steam escape when the door is opened and by cuttin off the supply of steam tothe chamber w en the door is opened, this objection. isovercome.

vide means for automatically withdrawing the vessel containin the food from the cooking chamber when t e door is opened so that the vessel may be conveniently removed by the cook without likelihood of suffering an burnsfrom contact with the walls of the cooking chamber.

Another object of the invention is to provide im roved means-for'makin a steam ti ht joint between the door an the walls of the cooking chamber to revent the cscape of steam from'the cham er.

The invention consists in the several novel features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a perspective of a cooker embodying the invention. Fig. i 2 is a side elevation. 'Fi 3 is'a detail of the door operated valve or controlling the supply of steam to the cooking chambert Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the cooking chamber, and Fig. 5 is a section taken online 5-5 of Fig. 4.

The invention 1s exemplified in a cooker comprising a base" 6' usually made up of wrought iron and adapted to support one unit or several superimposed units 7 which are alike inconstruction-so that a. description of one will suflice for all.

Each unit 7 com rises an oven or enclosing structure consisting of integral back, top, bottom and side walls 8 and rovlded' with a front opening 9 adapted to e closed by a. door 10. The inner face of the door is a groove 12 in the front face of the enclosing structure. This door is supported to swing to one side of the oven. The supporting connection between the door and the oven comprises an arm 13,. one end of which is .riveted to the front face 0 providing means for automatically" adapted to bear against a gasket 11 held in d Application pivoted at 14 in a lug 15 which is bolted to one side of-the oven and the other end of which is pivoted, at 16 to lu s 17 which are E the door. device for holdin the door'closed comprises -a latch 18 which as one of its endspivoted at'-19 to a lu 20 which is bolted to the {other side of t e oven and a lever 21 which is provided with an eccentric 22 is pivotally connected to the other 'end of said latch at 23. The latch 1 8. permits the lever to be 1 n moved. bodily into and out of operative re- 'Another object of the 1nvent1on is to pro-" lat-ion with an arm 24which has one or its ends pivoted at 25 to lugs26 which are fixed to the front of the door and its other end is provided with a concave seat or hearing 27 for the eccentric 22 on the lever 21. In

y order to cause an equalized pressure of the door against the gasket 11 and. prevent the escape of steam from the chamber in the oven, screws 29 are provided in the arm 24 and adapted to benadjusted to engage the door and 'slmilar screws 30 extend through the arm. 13. By adjusting these screws which examplify ad ustable abutments, the pressure of the door a ainst the gasket when -the door is secured in" closed position, as

shown in Fig; '4, will be evenly distributed to prevent leakage of the steam at any point between the oven and the door. Lugs 31 adjacent the top and bottom of arm 13 are provided with stops 32 which limit the movement of said arm relatively to the door. Similar stop-lugs 33 will limit the movement of the arm 24 relatively to the door. When the door is to "be released, the lever 21 is swung about its pivot 23 to release the arm 24 and latch 18 and the latter with the lever are swun laterally to the position shown in dotte lines in ig. 4, whereupon the door will be free to be opened. To close the door, the latch and lever will be re versely operated, the eccentric 22 serving to lock the arm 24 and door 10 in closed position. When the screws 29 and 30 are correctly adjusted, the door will be secured so that no steam will escape from the oven through the joint between the oven and the cor.

Asteam sup 1y pipe 34 is connected by branches 35 to t e units of the cooker. Hand valves 36 are adapted to separately control the supply of steam to the units respectively so'that anyone of them may be operated inchambers is carried oii by a pipe 40- which is connected to each of the units respectively by a suitable drip pipe 41.

A cut-ofi' valve 44 is included in each branch 35 of the steam supply pipe and a connection is provided for automatically controlling each of the valves by the door for the chamber to which the branch leads. This valve 44 is of the self-closin plunger type and comprises a seat 45, a p unger 46 adapted to fit against the seat and prevent the flow of steam through the valve and a stem 47 on the plunger operated so that it will be normally closed by. a spring 48. A connection for controlling the valve 44 so that the supply of steam will be discontinued when the door is open and which will be automatically opened when the door is closed comprises a leveri49 pivotallysupported at 50 and having one end formed to engage the stem 47, a rod 51 ivoted to the lower end of lever 49, extending through a guide lug.

52 and provided at its front end with an adjustable sleeve 53 positioned to be engaged by an abutment 55 on door 10. A spring 56 is applied to operate the connection to release the valve stem 47 when the door. is open. As a result of this construction, the

1 door will automatically operate the connection to open the valve 44 andto hold it 0 en as long as the door remains closed an to automatically close the valve whenever the door is open. A characteristic of thisdevice is that the valve will be instantly and completely closed during the initial opening movement of the door. This results from controllim the self-closing valve byan abutment at t e free end ofthe door, so that a slight opening movement of the door will suiiice to close the valve.

In practice, employees are frequently burned in reaching into the oven to remove 'the vessels containing the cooked food firom the oven and one feature of the resent invention consists in royiding mec anism for automatically wit drawing these vessels from the oven to avoid danger of injury. to the employee. For this purpose, the vessels 60 containing the vfood to be cooked are placed on a grid 61 which is slidably mount ed in channel bars 62,which are carried by angle bars 63 which are secured to the sides of the oven respectively. A linkage comprising links 64 and 65 serves as a connection between the doorand the grid whereby the latter with the vessels thereon will be i mesa automaticall withdrawn from the oven when the door is opened. Link 64 is pivoted to the 65 is pivoted to the'door at 68. A. stop 69 is formed on link 64 which renders the linkage rigid between its end pivots after the initial movement in openin the door.. As a result of this connection, the grid or vessel sup ort 61 will be operated into and out of t e oven by the door. When the door is opened, the grid will project forwardly of the even as indicated by dotted lines in Fig.

5. As the door is closed, the linkage 64, 65

grid at 66 and to link 65 at 6?. Link will operate the support and the vessels thereon into the back of the oven so that 'When the door is closed'the grid will be disposed entirely in the oven, as shown by full The invention is not to be understood asrestrictcd "to the details set forth, since these may be modified within the scope of the a pended claims, without departing from tie spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Lett'ers Patent, is:

1. In a steam cooker, the combination of a'structure havinga chamber therein adapted toretain steam to heat the products placed therein, and a door for access to the chamber, said door being pivoted adjacent one of its ends, a pipe for deliverin steam into said chamber, a self-closing slide-valve in said pipe, adapted to control the entire volume of steam delivered to said chamber, means for securin the door closed and a device between the cor and said valve where by the valve will be held open while the door is secured closed and instantaneously released so the valve will be automatically and completely closed to entirely out oi the supply of steam during the initialopening movement of the door, said, device comprising an element which is entirely separable from the door to permit independent movement of the door after the valve has been closed.

2. In a steam cooker, the combination of a structure having a chamber therein adapted to retain steam to heat the products placed therein, and a door for access to the chamber, said door being pivoted adjacent one of its ends, a pipe for delivering steam into the chamber, a self-closing slide-valve in the pipe mass adapted to control the entire volume of steam delivered into the chamber, means for se curing the door closed, and a device between the door and the valve for holding the valve open while the door is closed, said device comprising apush-rod and a lever which are entirely separable from the door and are adapted to be released during the initial opening movement of the door so that the latter will be automatical y withdrawn from.

the chamber when the door is opened and moved into the chamber when the door is the other link,

closed, comprising a pair of links, one of which has one of its ends pivoted to the support and its other end pivoted to one end of the latter having its other end pivoted to the door, and a stop on one of the links to limit relative movement of the links and render them relatively rigid so they will shift the support during a portion of each movement of the door.

4. In a steam cooker, the combination of a structure having a chamber therein and provided with adoor, a steam supply, means for controlling the passage of steam from the supply to said chamber, a pivotalsupporting connection between the door and the structure comprising an arm pivoted to the door and to the structure, and an adjustable abutment between the door and the arm, and means for holding the door closed.

5. In a steam cooker, the combination of a structure having a chamber therein and provided with a door, a steam supply, means for controlling the passage of steam from the supply to said chamber, a pivotal supporting connection between the door and the structure, an arm pivoted to the door, means for securing the door closed' comprising a pivoted latch and a lever for engaging said arm, and an adjustable abutment between said arm and the door.

6. In a steam cooker, the combination of a structure having a chamber therein and provided with a door, a steam supply, means for controlling the passage of steam from the supply to said chamber, a pivotal supporting connection between the door and the structure comprising an arm pivoted to the door and to the structure, means for holding the door closed, comprising an arm pivoted to the door, anda lever for engaging said arm,

and adjustable abutments between the door 1 and said arms respectively.

7 In a steam cooker, the combination of a structure having a chamber therein and provided with a door, means for providing steam for said chamber, a pivotal supporting connection between the door and the structure comprising an arm'pivoted to the door and to the structure, means for holding the door closed, com risin an arm pivoted to the door, and a lever or engaging said arm, and adjustable abutments between the door and said arms respectively.

8. In a steam cooker, the combination of a structure having a steam cooking chamber therein, a door for the chamber, a pivotal supporting connection between the door and the structure and means for holding the door closed comprising a movable latch and a pair of arms pivoted on the door and cooperating wit the latch and support connection respective ln testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 13th day of May, 1929.

1 WILLIAM MCKENNA. 

